VIDEO: VPD officer yells at mom after kids left in hot car

Vancouver police say the Province’s ministry of children is now involved in the case of a mother who allegedly left her kids in a hot vehicle while grocery shopping in East Vancouver this week.

A video posted to social media – which has since gone viral – shows a Vancouver police officer berating the mother as she stands beside her SUV. The incident occurred on Monday afternoon.

“You don’t seem to understand the danger you put your children in,” the officer says. “The windows were up, it’s hot out. Your children could have died.”

Vancouver police chief Adam Palmer confirmed the officer was a member of the VPD, who arrived to the scene after police received multiple 911 calls from citizens concerned about two children left in distress the vehicle. The vehicle’s alarm was also going off.

The mother was inside the grocery store for about 20 minutes, Palmer said.

The children inside – a six-year-old girl and a three-and-a-half-year-old boy – were treated at the scene for dehydration.

No charges have been laid at this time, but MCFD is now involved and following up.

Palmer reminded parents and guardians the risks of leaving children and pets in hot cars can be severe.

“The interior of a car heats up dramatically higher than what the outside temperature is,” he said, “and leaving any… human or animal in a car for that long is very, very serious business.”